Mary Frank
Encyclopedia
Mary Frank née Mary Lockspeiser (born in London, England on February 4, in 1933) is a visual artist known primarily as a sculptor, painter and printmaker/illustrator.
from 1945 to 1947 and was admitted to the High School for Music and Art in New York. In 1949 she transferred to the Professional Children's School where she majored in dance. She met Swiss photographer, Robert Frank
, who she married in 1950. About this time she studied wood carving at Alfred van Loen's studio. She also studied drawing with Max Beckamnn at the American Art School in New York and briefly with Hans Hofmann
in 1951 and 1954 at Hofmann's Eighth Street School. By this time she had two children: Pablo (named after Picasso) born February 7, 1951, and Andrea, born April 21, 1954. In 1955 she traveled with her husband, Robert Frank and her two small children across the country for two years.
In 1969 Mary began her relationship with the Zabriskie Gallery in New York. Inspired by the sculpture and pottery of Margaret Ponce Israel
Mary began working in clay. She divorced Robert Frank in the same year. In 1973 she purchased a summer home in Lake Hill, New York and built her first kiln.
On December 28, 1974 her 21-year old daughter, Andrea was killed in a plane crash in the Guatemala
n jungle. About a year later Pablo developed Hodgkin's lymphoma
and he died on November 11, 1994 in Pennsylvania. She presently lives and works in Lake Hill and New York City. Since 1995, she is married to Leo Treltler, pianist and music scholar.
Mary Frank's career spanned 5 decades. She was largely self-taught and never had any formal training as a sculptress. She was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1984, the recipient of numerous awards and honors including two Guggenheim Foundation
Fellowship Awards in 1973 and 1983, the Lee Krasner
Award of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation
in 1993 and the Joan Mitchell
Grant Award in 1995.
Currently she has works included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution
, the Library of Congress
, the Art Institute of Chicago
, the Museum of Art at Yale University
and the Jewish Museum
.
She has also produced many painting
s and works in various other media (especially printmaking).
Her works are in New York's Whitney Museum, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts
, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
, and many others.
Biography
Frank is the only child of American painter, Eleanore Lockspeiser (1909–1986) and English musicologist and art critic, Edward Lockspeiser (1905–1973). During World War II Mary was sent to live in Brooklyn, New York with her maternal grandpartents, Gregory and Eugenie Weinstein. She studied modern dance with Martha GrahamMartha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
from 1945 to 1947 and was admitted to the High School for Music and Art in New York. In 1949 she transferred to the Professional Children's School where she majored in dance. She met Swiss photographer, Robert Frank
Robert Frank
Robert Frank , born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photobook titled The Americans, was influential, and earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and skeptical outsider's view of American...
, who she married in 1950. About this time she studied wood carving at Alfred van Loen's studio. She also studied drawing with Max Beckamnn at the American Art School in New York and briefly with Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter.-Biography:Hofmann was born in Weißenburg, Bavaria on March 21, 1880, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann. When he was six he moved with his family to Munich...
in 1951 and 1954 at Hofmann's Eighth Street School. By this time she had two children: Pablo (named after Picasso) born February 7, 1951, and Andrea, born April 21, 1954. In 1955 she traveled with her husband, Robert Frank and her two small children across the country for two years.
In 1969 Mary began her relationship with the Zabriskie Gallery in New York. Inspired by the sculpture and pottery of Margaret Ponce Israel
Margaret Ponce Israel
Margaret Ponce Israel was a painter and ceramist who lived and worked in New York City. She was married to New York artist Marvin Israel. She was born in 1929 in Havana, Cuba and died in 1987 in Manhattan. She was hit by a tractor-trailer while riding her bike on West 23rd Street...
Mary began working in clay. She divorced Robert Frank in the same year. In 1973 she purchased a summer home in Lake Hill, New York and built her first kiln.
On December 28, 1974 her 21-year old daughter, Andrea was killed in a plane crash in the Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n jungle. About a year later Pablo developed Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
and he died on November 11, 1994 in Pennsylvania. She presently lives and works in Lake Hill and New York City. Since 1995, she is married to Leo Treltler, pianist and music scholar.
Mary Frank's career spanned 5 decades. She was largely self-taught and never had any formal training as a sculptress. She was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1984, the recipient of numerous awards and honors including two Guggenheim Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
Fellowship Awards in 1973 and 1983, the Lee Krasner
Lee Krasner
Lee Krasner was an influential abstract expressionist painter in the second half of the 20th century. On October 25, 1945, she married artist Jackson Pollock, who was also influential in the Abstract Expressionism movement....
Award of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation
Pollock-Krasner Foundation
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expressionist painter and the widow of fellow painter Jackson...
in 1993 and the Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell was a "second generation" abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era's few...
Grant Award in 1995.
Currently she has works included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, the Museum of Art at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and the Jewish Museum
Jewish Museum
Jewish Museum may refer to:Australia* Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne, VictoriaAustria* Jewish Museum ViennaCzech Republic* Jewish Museum of PragueDenmark* Danish Jewish Museum, CopenhagenGeorgia...
.
She has also produced many painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s and works in various other media (especially printmaking).
Her works are in New York's Whitney Museum, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco and one of the largest art museums in California.-External...
, and many others.
External links
- Askart.com on Mary Frank, including IMAGES of several works
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco search results, including COLOR IMAGES of works by Mary Frank [including several monotype prints]
- Artcyclopedia on Mary Frank [mentions the fact that she is married to Robert FrankRobert FrankRobert Frank , born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photobook titled The Americans, was influential, and earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and skeptical outsider's view of American...
] - 1998 Art News article (review by critic Carol Diehl of Mary Frank's "InscapesInscape (visual art)Inscape, in visual art, is a term especially associated with certain works of Chilean artist Roberto Matta, but it is also used in other senses within the visual arts. Though the term inscape has been applied to stylistically diverse artworks, it usually conveys some notion of representing the...
," an exhibition of paintings at D. C. Moore in New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) - http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/frank-mary
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17677103